Haiti Medical + Leadership Trip | Day 1

IT’LL LIKELY TAKE A FEW MORE HOURS FOR MY MIND TO QUIET AND MY BODY TO RELAX AFTER TODAY.

Though this is my second time in Haiti, and I knew what to expect from the commute between Port-Au-Prince and Mapou, today caught me off my game.

Our team of 6 set off from Heart-to-Heart (HHI) headquarters in Petionville (near Port-Au-Prince) this morning at 6 AM (Eastern). Our plan was to journey south along Haitian Highway 1 toward the town of Thiotte (pronounced Chote), where we are staying throughout the week as we meet with our friends in Mapou.

Here is the thing, though… “highway” is a misnomer. It didn’t take long for the team to realize just how remote the village of Mapou is. As we wove our way out of the bustling city streets of Port-Au-Prince and began to climb the roads that led further and further into mountainous countryside, it became clear as to why few ever make it to Mapou.

7 hours later, we arrived in the village that we’ve anticipated returning to for so long. The intent for today was to allow our medical team to be present with the residential nurses that Heart-to-Heart has planted in the local community. You may remember that in December of 2016, College Church partnered with the federation leaders (more on federations in the next post!) to hire a nurse who could be a consistent presence in Mapou. Nurse Marie Aline was hired and has been administering aid to the community since early January—and it was alongside her that we were able to interact with our neighbors in Mapou today!

We’ll continue to share our thoughts and pass along what we learn from the federation leaders this week. Check back often at collegechurch.com/mercyblog to stay in the loop!

HOW YOU CAN PRAY:

+ FOR THE ENERGY AND HEALTH OF THE TEAM THAT IS REPRESENTING COLLEGE CHURCH.

+ THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CHALLENGES AS THE TEAM COMMUTES FROM THEIR LODGING TO THE MAPOU VILLAGE (A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR EACH WAY).

+ THAT GOD’S PRESENCE WOULD BE REVEALED IN THE INTERACTIONS OUR TEAM TAKES PART IN.